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EN-Oct16

MIGHTY LIFT FROM CRANE HOIST LIFTING www.engineeringnews.co.nz 31 Big is often better, but when it came to the construction of the half-hectare $60 million Red Stag Timber mega-mill, the Rotorua-based company choose the brand that “ticked all the boxes” when considering the construction and future site maintenance: Crane Hoist Lifting. It’s been a year since Red Stag installed its three gantry cranes and Mike Carlton, the company’s new sawmill project manager, says the two 3.0 tonne cranes and 1.0 tonne Crane Hoist Lifting cranes are doing “exactly what they said they would on the box”. “There were no surprises. All the boxes were ticked. They have worked as they should have and have been very reliable so we cannot ask for more than that,” says Mr Carlton. The 5000 square metre, multi-storey building and milling operation used timber instead of steel for the building portals and walls and the cranes were put in early to help with construction of the mill. “We used the crane’s plenty for some of the lighter construction work, but long-term their function is for saw changes which happen at least once a shift,” says Mr Carton. “We also figured out what we needed for our heaviest ‘normal’ maintenance lift and then we went to four suppliers in the marketplace.” Crane Hoist Lifting, though, weren’t initially at the forefront of minds. “Everyone was thinking Demag as the option but as we unravelled the proposals Crane Hoist Lifting’s quote, pricing and solution for our needs was competitive and complete. There were some eyebrows raised at the time, not now though.” Ian Young of Crane Hoist Lifting outlined the benefits of Street hoist “The cranes are beefier. Street equipment is more robust and the British standard requires a 25% load test compared to Australian and European standards which only need a 10% load test, it is a very clever, high-tech hoist.” Unlike other brands, a lot of the maintenance on the cranes can be done by a local electrician saving time and money spent on specialists. Competitor products have “gone very proprietary” with can-bus controls or black box technology which needs specialist maintenance knowledge, often locking in the customer to high priced parts and service. “The Street hoist on the other hand uses standard and readily available components where ever possible; sourced from local electrical wholesalers. In the event of an breakdown clients can often fix it themselves, with no captured electrical spare parts, so downtime is greatly reduced,” says Mr Young. “Having the brake on the gearbox rather than the back of the motor means if the coupling fails the load will not be dropped. A mill is also a dusty place, so having all gearbox totally oil bath enclosed also means the workplace environment doesn’t impact on crane performance,” he says. Another feather in the cap of the Street hoist came in the form of a specific need. Street features a unique slack-resistant wire rope guide which no other brand has and in the multi-storey facility the chances of the guide becoming a “bird’s nest was much less”. “At the end of the day,” says Mr Carlton, “we got what we wanted. A solution for our specific needs and a very competitive price.” RED STAG’S MEGA-MILL GETS EN083


EN-Oct16
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